December 28, 2011 by Dad.

The sun, the sea, the sand, rocks to throw, what more could a boy ask for…

Sticks ! Running with the seagulls.

The beach charge !

I sure am glad not to be on the receiving end of all that aggression. A final wave to Mommy before heading home again.

Posted in Places Visited, Just Everyday | Print | No Comments »

December 17, 2011 by Dad.

The local fire station / fire house help a type of open house and Santa visited and took pictures with the kids. We got to see a real fire truck up close and even got to climb on and inspect the many levers and hoses. The best part were the junior fire fighter badges and helmets that were handed out. Etienne could not get enough of the old fire engine and climbed it and inspected it and checked to see if any of the parts were loose. Thankfully everything was well secured and nothing broke off !

Posted in Places Visited, Special Events | Print | No Comments »

December 11, 2011 by Dad.

On a rather cold and windy day we decided to take a drive into San Francisco and show Ouma & Oupa the beach, get some lunch and try see the gingerbread house at The Fairmont.

Etienne and Cezanne both love the beach and even though we needed to wear jackets they were not able to hold back and enjoyed the beach as much as humanly possible.

Lunch was lucky  as we bumped into Santa who was taking requests at a restaurant just off Fisherman’s Wharf and Cezanne and Etienne needed to be asked only once if they wanted to see the old man. Etienne really seemed to be having a good chat with the man in red - wonder what he asked for ?

After quite a lot of time in the car the kids were sick of sitting and so by the time we got to The Fairmont and the gingerbread house all Etienne wanted to do was run around. The Fairmont is not really the place to do this, but the long corridors from the parking garage to the lobby were just what he needed to get his energy levels back to normal.

Posted in Places Visited, Special Events | Print | No Comments »

October 16, 2011 by Dad.

Cezanne asked when we were going on vacation again and so we asked where she might like to go and she said the beach. Our answer, Baker’s Beach, the very next day…

It was not a sunny day, but it was also not a cold day, there was no wind or fog and this made it perfect. The beach was pretty empty and the water not too cold to get your feet wet. We took along some toys and built a big sand fort which eventually got washed away by the rising tide.

We then took a walk along the beach towards Golden Gate Bridge to get some more photos.

This was such an easy trip and the kids loved it so !

Posted in Places Visited | Print | No Comments »

October 11, 2011 by Dad.

Cezanne had her first field trip and parents were encouraged to attend. Lanelle and Etienne joined the class for a morning in the corn sandbox, pumpkin picking and running around in the hay maze. The “big kids” did not seem to scare him off and he warmed up soon enough and then was in amongst them as if he was one of them…

Posted in Places Visited, Just Everyday | Print | No Comments »

October 2, 2011 by Dad.

We started a bit of a tradition a few years back to go apple picking in the early fall. The kids always seem to love the outing and so we figured we would try to continue the tradition despite now being in California. We were spoilt in Illinois with a really wonderful farm not more than 45 minutes from home. Here in Dublin we needed to drive almost 3 hours to reach Apple Hill an area outside Sacramento with a collection of smaller apple farms with a much smaller concentration of self pick farms but then the benefit was that each farm was smaller and less crowded.

Etienne and Cezanne really enjoyed the day picking apples, helping Lanelle pick pumpkins, tasting apple cider and eating apple doughnuts.

After a long hard day amongst the apples we called on old friends Tim & Rachel after asking for some advise on where to find the best apple farms. We used to belong to the same small group and had last seen them Easter 2010 at Gavin & Christina at their home in Folsom. Well this was a real treat for Cezanne and Etienne because they have horses and the kids each got a turn to ride the horse. Etienne shared a ride with Tim’s youngest (approaching 3 years).

Posted in Places Visited, Special Events | Print | No Comments »

June 12, 2011 by Dad.

We arrived in California on June 6th and after being taken care of by a work friend who fetched us from the airport and offered to loan us a spare car for as long as we needed it we started to settle in and wait to hear about the offer we had made on a house… Tick Tock Tick Tock…

After a week in the hotel we had to get out and do something. Based on a recommendation from another colleague we drove 70 miles south to Gilroy and spent the day at a horticultural theme park for young kids. Cezanne had a great time, Etienne was a little uncertain on some of the rides that he had to ride alone, but all in all it was a good day and the kids enjoyed getting out of the hotel and getting to run around.

Posted in Places Visited | Print | No Comments »

June 5, 2011 by Dad.

Wagon Kids; Etienne & Daddy at the Zoo

Etienne enjoys the dolphins.

Etienne & Mama; Misty Cool Dude

On our last day in Illinois we decided to visit the Brookfield Zoo one last time with our dear friends the Bassons. The kids had a great time running wild from one habitat to the next. The kids all behaved beautifully and this made the day really enjoyable for all. This is a great zoo and we have enjoyed each visit over the years.

Posted in Places Visited, Special Events | Print | No Comments »

May 30, 2011 by Dad.

We set off to enjoy a final day at the Morten Arboretum’s Children’s Garden. We have truly enjoyed this wonderful kid-friendly outdoor play area. We are very sad to be leaving this behind and will have to find some replacement when we get to California.

Puddle Jumper; Etienne, Daddy & Cezanne; Mama & Etienne; Etienne on the porch; Cezanne & Etienne

Tree-house Siblings; Happy Tree Huggers; Lovely Lads & Lassies Lost in Lavender

Posted in Places Visited, Special Events | Print | No Comments »

May 29, 2011 by Dad.

Etienne forced to tag along as we all trekked into the big city to buy Cezanne her American Girl Doll… Boring !

Posted in Places Visited | Print | No Comments »